Dao with Ian Felton

Happy Daoist New Year! We reflect on last year and on 2023 so that we can walk our path more gracefully and in the direction we are aiming for.

Chapter 10 of Daodejing is about embracing Dao. However, we live in an economic system that works against Dao. How can we ever live in harmony with Dao when we are so afraid of taking any actions not aligned with the global economic system?

What is the nature of chaos? How does it appear in life? How do the rich make the poor scapegoats to deal with chaos and why? We explore how Laozi and others suggest we relate to chaos so that we aren't overcome by it.

Moderation is the key theme of Chapter Nine of Daodejing. We need moderation more than ever before but our culture and society encourage extremism and over-consumption. What can we do?

Technology continues to become a bigger part of our lives. We can no longer separate our lives from technology, but we can be deliberate in making sure we don't lose our connection with Dao.

Chapter eight of Daodejing builds a metaphor of water to help us to navigate our relationship with our internal and external worlds. When we contend with our environment, we ultimately fight with ourselves. By reflecting on our experiences, we can grow in our capacity to be like water.

Status cannot be separated from society or the human heart. What role does status play in society? How can a sage use status to help society navigate inevitable changes?

Chapter seven of Daodejing talks about how the sage puts herself last. We explore why our system and culture makes this so difficult to do in a genuine way.

Starting with the popular survival series, "Alone," we discuss living in harmony with Dao and the consequences of living in a global society.

Chapter Six of Daodejing is brief and abstract. We explore Laozi's metaphors of the mysterious female and ways to connect with it.

Let's explore the idea of De 德, or Virtue. What purpose does virtue serve in society and who is it for? How do we cultivate virtue once we have a better understanding of what it is? We also examine our current society and whether or not our leaders have virtue.

What does it mean that Dao treats people like ceremonial dogs? How does this realization change our way of experiencing life?

How does music relate to Dao? What purpose does music serve? Where does it come from?

Chapter Four of the Daodejing is the precursor to The Three Treasures and wuwei. We explore the four central abstract concepts in this chapter and ground them in human experience.

Daoist leadership is described as containing five characteristics: being altruistic, modest, flexible, transparent, and gentle but persistent. We explore these and the challenges of being a Daoist leader in a non-Daoist world.

Chapter three of Daodejing explores how to govern to minimize chaos. We contrast Laozi's wisdom with our modern world and discuss what it might look like to return to a simpler way of living.

The world is full of chaos because of a system that has lost its way. So long as the proposed solutions can only exist within the upside-down global economic system, chaos will remain.

In chapter two of Daodejing, Laozi explains why we need to accept the wholeness of life and not cling to our narrow actions and views. We also explore the role of death anxiety and how it leads to people seeking security in dogma and cultural symbols.

Diane Dreher, PhD, author of "The Tao of Inner Peace," joins us to talk about balance, leadership, activism, virtue and Walking the Timeless Way.

We return to the beginning of Daodejing to guide our listeners through the earlier chapters. We explore the mysterious and erotic nature of Dao.

Conflict is part of the human condition. However, the sage can help mitigate conflict by a careful examination of desires. We explore organizational conflict, the conflict in Europe, and how the Metaverse may help civilization navigate our desires in a less damaging way.

The Dao of Courage requires us to be willing to let go of a lot. How can we practice courage in our lives while trying to align with Dao?

Many of us live mundane lives with a lot of routine. How do we create magic in our life?

What does Daoism say about our wants and desires? What responsibility comes with freedom? What is true humility?

Daoism can free us from dogma and labels. It can allow us to be more spontaneous and it also fosters deep human connection. We begin to explore changing our worldview to live more whole.